on the broadcast tonight, it's super tuesday. decision day in 11 states including a big one that could have the power to tip the republican race. not so fast. president obama pushes back against the increasing drum beat toward war with iran and he calls out his republican opponents for it. local hero. the incredible story of a woman who risked her own life to save her two children during that awful tornado outbreak. kids and cavities. surprising news tonight about preschoolers and what's happening to their baby teeth. and mr. mayor. on a busy primary night a young man who won his race already. now he just has to finish high school. now he just has to finish high school. "nbc nightly news" begins now.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. and this is super tuesday night. gop primaries in 11 states. 424 delegates at stake and the voting is under way at this hour. that include it is biggest prize of the night, the state of ohio, where the polls there close in less than 30 minutes. and not to be overlooked or outdone on this busy day the president stepped before the cameras at the white house and held a wide-ranging mid-day news conference in part to remind the men who want his job this is serious business, especially where this increasing talk of war with iran is concerned. our political team with us in the studio and in the field is in place on this super tuesday night to cover it all. we begin with ron mott in stubenville, ohio tonight. >> reporter: good evening. rick santorum stopped short of calling ohio a must win tonight

saying it would be huge for his campaign if he does. the fight against mitt romney has had punches flying up until the final bell. though not the biggest delegate prize of super tuesday. [ cheers and applause ] >> thank you so much. >> reporter: ohio is considered the catch of the day. mitt romney went home to boston to vote after a solid week slugging it out toe to toe in ohio with rick santorum. >> it's great to be in the heart of ohio here in buckeye territory. that's a tough thing for a penn stater to say. >> reporter: a proven presidential battleground, 12 state elections picking the winner, victory in ohio can cast long-lasting signals. for romney, says one political expert, the stakes couldn't be higher. especially considering a possible southern surge in the next week for newt gingrich. >> the field is tilted for the rest of march in a santorum and/or gingrich direction. not in a romney direction. i think he has to have ohio. has to win ohio.

>> reporter: romney is expected to perform best in ohio's urban and suburban areas. santorum in smaller, rural communities. each has focused speeches around restoring luster to the rust belt for good reason. ohio produces $73.5 billion worth of goods every year ranking third in the nation and is the second largest maker of automobiles behind michigan, which is why opposition to the auto industry bailout by romney and santorum could impact the vote, not just in the primary today but in november. at a cafe outside akron, michelle hall and her mother barbara were divided. >> i'm liking who's out there now. i feel comfortable with who's out there. >> instead of telling what they would really do for us, they talk about each other. and that's not a good thing. >> reporter: the santorum campaign is essentially looking for a split decision here in ohio tonight. he is still in contention to win the popular vote, but because of a filing issue regarding

delegates it's unlikely he could win on that front, too, brian. >> ron mott, thanks. david gregory, moderator of "meet the press," very quickly. the stakes couldn't be higher for mitt romney tonight. >> the question is can he lock up the nomination? it all comes down to ohio. that's a big battleground in the fall. if he win there is tonight he's on his way. and can he expand his support beyond conservatives he's already gotten to working class conservatives, more social conservatives? because bottom line, the question will be can he unite the party as the nominee? >> let's swing east to the white house. president obama chose this super tuesday of all days to take on his gop rivals who have been criticizing him on the campaign trail over the issue of iran. savannah guthrie watched the president with us earlier today, part of our politics team here tonight. interesting day in the briefing room. >> yeah, and as you mentioned the white house knew this super tuesday news conference would get more than the usual attention, as you said. the questions dealt mostly with foreign policy but with the

presidential campaign at home, clear tli backdrop, the president sounding off on republican rivals who have been talking tough on iran. at a news conference that coincided with the gop's marquee primary night the president lashed out at republican candidates he accused of, quote, popping off with with loose talk of war. >> those folks don't have a lot of responsibilities. they're not commander in chief. this is not a game. there is nothing casual about it. >> he has turned his back on the people of israel. [ applause ] >> reporter: the president's rivals were not letting up. >> we would not keep talking while the iranians keep building. >> reporter: today, before a pro israel lobbying group hammering mr. obama for being soft on iran. >> i will station multiple aircraft carriers and warships at iran's door. i will bring the current policy of procrastination toward iran to an end. >> i reserve all options. >> reporter: the president has spent the week trying to mollify

leaders assuring benjamin netanyahu the u.s. won't tolerate a nuclear iran and would use military strikes to stop it. he made it clear he has no appetite for war. >> the notion that somehow we have a choice to make in the next week or two weeks or month or two months is not borne out by the facts. >> reporter: republicans argue the president's hesitance about military force and efforts to dissuade israel from acting alone against iran send a message to the iranian regime which the president rejected. >> if some of these folks think it's time to launch a war they should say so. they should explain to the american people why they would do that and what the consequences would be. everything else is just talk. >> reporter: on the republican candidates' other criticisms of him, the president side-step an offer to respond. >> what would you like to say to

mr. romney? >> good luck tonight. [ laughter ] >> no, really. >> really. >> back on iran, american decision-makers are operating under the assumption that israelis will take action against iran in the coming months. some believe the israelis are well aware the backdrop of an american presidential election will increase pressure for all candidates to show they are tough on iran and they will want to show they are standing by israel. >> interesting dynamic in the briefing room. savannah guthrie. as we bring in the rest of the team i realized we have four former white house correspondents and one current white house correspondent. >> did i get demoted? >> chuck todd, what are you watching for tonight? david, we keep hearing all day. david said romney could clinch tonight but that doesn't mean we'll have dropouts because of tonight. >> no, and a lot of it depends on where does rick santorum win.

he's in the must-win situation. he's going to lose the math primary tonight to mitt romney. we know that. he has to win the perception primary and he has to win ohio and tennessee to have a case to go forward. quickly on what the president did, they are anxious to have this debate. they want to have the foreign policy debates. maybe other debates they will wait. on mitt romney they want to have the fight. they believe mitt romney has been left unanswered out there and that he deserves to be questioned more on this. this was deliberate to draw that out. by the way, these guys are going to start active campaigning next week. vice president biden will be making his first campaign speech in ohio next week. >> it was, andrea mitchell, an andrew shepherd moment, the michael douglas character from "the american president" but the president seemed to be saying, whoa, the drum beat is going too quickly and is way too loud. >> he brought up the fact that he visits the soldiers, the

troops at walter reed. he said, there is nothing casual about this. i am the commander in chief. he was really putting them down -- mitt romney and the rest -- but it's really mitt romney he's turning his attention to and saying, look, this is serious business. this is not casual to talk about war. also reminding the american people there are economic consequences. this is a big issue. it is worthy of a big debate and, he said, u.s. and israeli intelligence both say there is no need to. there is a timeline. what they were telling us yesterday when the prime minister benjamin netanyahu was there they are saying there is a year beyond the point where they believe iran made the decision to have a weapon. they do not believe iran has made the decision. >> many feel the israeli component is the wild card here. thanks. our team will remain here. we'll be on the air this evening as results become apparent. we hope you will join us this evening for decision 2012 special coverage at 10:00 eastern/9:00 central. if you're watching on the west

coast, a special time, 8:00 p.m. in other news the fallout continues falling rush limbaugh's tirade against the georgetown law school student. limbaugh lost more advertisers today. by one count that's at least 33 sponsors that have bailed and at least a couple of radio station affiliates dropped the show. during the news conference the president was asked about limbaugh's comments. he said he believes, quote, the remarks don't have a place in the public discourse. >> the reason i called ms. fluke is because i thought about malia and sasha. one of the things i want them to do as they get older is to engage in issues they care about, even ones i may not agree with them on. i want them to be able to speak their mind in a civil and thoughtful way. and i don't want them attacked

or called horrible names because they're being good citizens. >> the president added this. he had no way of knowing, quoting here, what's in rush limbaugh's heart. now we switch to what's been our top story here for the last few nights and an incredible story of heroism and sacrifice during that massive outbreak of tornadoes last friday. it's about a mother who used her own body as a human shield to protect her children as their house came crashing down on top of all of them. we get her story tonight from nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: huddled in the basement with a massive tornado bearing down on their new home, stephanie decker had just seconds to protect 8-year-old domenic and 5-year-old reese, so she wrapped them in a blanket and laid on top of them just as the house started coming apart. >> everything was just slamming into my back. i had my children in the blanket

and they were screaming. mommy, i can't live without you, i don't want to die, please don't let me die. i said, you're not going to die, we're going to make it. >> reporter: when the storm cleared the home had been wiped from its foundation. stephanie and the kids were buried. >> i took my phone and made a video to my husband -- telling him i love him. >> reporter: it was domenic who climbed out and ran for help. a neighbor, sheriff's deputy brian lovens came running with friends to find stephanie bleeding heavily with a severed leg. >> she's like, i'm dying. i ain't going to let you die. >> reporter: using a belt as a tourniquet they got her out and into an suv for a mad dash to an ambulance. stephanie's husband joe only knew she had stopped texting from the basement. >> are you okay? are you guys okay? >> reporter: he rushed home to find this. it was at the hospital he learned of stephanie's injuries.

one leg severed at that time kn -- at the knee, the other at the ankle. the kids didn't have a scratch. >> she's alive and the kids are alive. so i told her, you get to see your kids grow up. that's all that matters. >> i love you. >> i love you, too. >> reporter: at the hospital today stephanie said she's no hero. >> i love my kids. >> reporter: one family built on a foundation of love, faith and sacrifice. tom costello, nbc news, henryville, indiana. >> incredible story out of indiana tonight. still ahead when we continue this evening, why are so many american preschoolers getting so many cavities? the trend making for a lot of difficult trips to the dentist. and later, he's not even out of high school, but he's tackling the tough issues. he has to. he's the mayor after all. spent their whole careers here.

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it was a shocker when people first read the story in the new york times this morning. little kids showing up at the dentist in this country in the year 2010 with multiple cavities, or worse, in baby teeth. it's happeng a lot. there are very specific reasons for it. our report tonight from our chief medical editor dr. nancy snyderman. >> reporter: melody's 5-year-old son is at the dentist getting a cavity filled, his second. she said it's tough to see him in this position and vows it won't happen to her toddler hudson. >> hudson doesn't have cavities yet. with brushing twice a day and flossing hopefully we'll avoid that. >> reporter: like many moms melody has reasons to worry.

tooth decay in children 2 to # 5 is on the rise. children in lower socioeconomic groups tend to see a dentist less often. so, too, are children whose teeth aren't brushed every day. dr. jed best is a pediatric dentist. >> every time a child has a snack with a sugary item the mouth becomes acidic. it's the number and frequency of exposure thax cause tooth decay. >> reporter: also the eating habits of american kids. they are snacking more on all the wrong food. sweetened juices, high sugar and high carbohydrate teeth. >> the choice is you brush the child's teeth and if they cry, consider it loud cooperation. having a dental filling done is more traumatic than having their teeth cleaned with a soft brush. >> reporter: also, drink tap water. it's fortified with fluoride. avoid sticky foods. skip the bedtime bottle.

and see a dentist by age 1, even if your baby has only one tooth. pediatric dental care is as important as a regular medical check-up. dr. nancy snyderman, nbc news, new york. wall street made news today. the numbers they posted may reflect fears from across the atlantic. worries about greece and a sell-off in europe. the dow tumbled more than 200 points. its biggest one-day loss of the year. nasdaq and s&p were down as well. up next tonight, a dramatic rescue from beneath a wall of snow. i love that my daughter's part fish. but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care. we're more than 78,000 people

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finally tonight, a political race that didn't get quite as much attention as super tuesday is getting, not that it wasn't a big deal when the young man you're about to meet was elected mayor of his town. the problem was he really couldn't celebrate because he had school the next day and he's not old enough to drink. our report from nbc's kevin tibbles. ♪ >> reporter: there he is, on the sax. not bill clinton, but jeremy minnier -- mayor jeremy minnier. >> all those opposed? >> this is my hometown. born and raised here. >> reporter: proud of it? >> all the way.

next we'll go over the budget. >> reporter: this 16-year-old is the new mayor of aredale, iowa, population 74 with a dusty main street and a post office destined for closure. how would is the town? >> 112 years old. we want to spruce it up. >> reporter: there are places where voting someone in this young would raise eye brous bbr not here where they say mayor minnier is what this town needs. >> now we have time for public comment. >> reporter: as a write-in candidate he won in a landslide, 24-8. no super pac necessary. folks already know him. >> i have seen him in a stroller with his twin brother, yes. cute little bundle of joy. >> reporter: although in farm country, name recognition has its pitfalls. >> i had a lady at the bank call me jeremy manure. >> reporter: he has a part-time job preparing ribs in aredale's

one restaurant. if the good citizens are hunting for their mayor, chances are they will find him tending the family farm. >> there is a lot of thoughts that run through my mind out here. >> reporter: as for big time career aspirations, don't look for mayor minnier to forget his roots. >> i don't see myself in washington, d.c. or in the capitol. i just love it here. it's a small town atmosphere i love. >> reporter: as mayor, he'll work to keep it this way, once his shorchores and homework are done. kevin tibbles, nbc news, iowa. >> thanks for being with us. i'm brian williams. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. and we're back on the air tonight for an hour of super tuesday coverage at 10:00 p.m./9:00 central. on the west coast join us at 8:00, a special time. we hope to see you this evening. 8:00, a special time. we hope to see you this evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com